Lesson 1: They say to “sleep when your baby sleeps.” But what they don’t tell you is that sleeping while your baby sleeps is HARD.
At least in the daytime it is. For this to work, you either have to be able to put your baby down when it is awake, work while holding your baby, or can get someone else to do all the work so you can nap frequently and randomly.
Have YOU been able to talk your baby into hanging out somewhere other than on you?
I sure wasn’t. If she was awake, she wanted to be held. And she didn’t want to be wrapped in snuggly fabric and worn. No, only the most labor intensive form of be being carried would do. In my arms. And ideally while being jiggled.
For those of us who haven’t quite mastered the art of constant baby wearing in the name of efficiency, there’s still a lesson to be learned from the concept of sleeping while your baby sleeps.
It’s this: figure out a way to do less stuff! If the work doesn’t stop just because your baby is sleeping, find a way to have less work.
Outsource, simplify, lower standards, ask for help. Beg, borrow (but don’t steal) to take other things off your plate.
Once things are off your plate, you’ll feel less pressure to get things done while baby sleeps and maybe, just maybe, you’ll get some shuteye too.
Lesson 2: Never getting more than 3 hours of sleep in a stretch, for months, does wonders for curing insomnia.
Seriously. Not a lick of insomnia in our household in those days. Sure, there were different, very loud, reasons we weren’t sleeping. But when we were allowed to sleep? Instantaneous.
Lesson 3: There are 50 million people who will give you conflicting advice on getting your baby to sleep.
And getting your baby to sleep is the holy grail of getting you to sleep.
One of the 50 million experts or books is probably right for you, your household, and your baby. Keep looking until you find them, and keep a mind open to experimentation as you search. It will be worth it.
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